War dead remembered with crosses at Capitol
Vigil participants honor soldiers for 24 hours

OLYMPIA -- Cross upon cross, row upon row.

June Schulgen (far right), a Port Orchard resident, addresses the rain-soaked crowd gathered Saturday evening on the Capitol Campus to memorialize those who have died fighting the war in Iraq by placing nearly 1,100 white crosses in their honor. Schulgen attended the event to place the cross for her son-in-law, 1st Lt. Fred E. Pokorney.
Toni L. Bailey/The Olympian

Emalee Hill, 9, of Olympia straightens a row of white crosses placed on the lawn of the Capitol Campus on Saturday evening to memorialize fallen troops in Iraq.
Toni L. Bailey/The Olympian

Under a relentless drizzle Saturday, they carefully laid white plastic crosses on the east lawn of the Capitol Campus -- each representing a soldier killed in the Iraq conflict. As of late Saturday, 1,086 soldiers have died.

Throughout the night, members of the local chapter of Veterans for Peace planned to read each soldier's name and age as part of a 24-hour vigil to honor their sacrifice and to bring awareness to the human costs of war.

"We wanted to make a statement and the statement is that this is what happens in war and we're honoring those who gave their lives," said Ken Schwilk, facilitator for the local chapter of Veterans for Peace, which organized the event.

About 80 people carrying stacks of crosses walked from downtown to the campus. A drummer pounded out a solemn military march.

The message was not intended to be a political statement, said Dennis Mills, a Vietnam era veteran who is the local chapter president. The project is called Arlington Northwest, named for the cemetery outside Washington, D.C.

Many who attended said they feel the government doesn't want people to see all the consequences of war.

One woman drove from Port Orchard to carry a cross for her son-in-law, a Marine killed in June in Nazaria.

June Schulgen said her son-in-law, 1st Lt. Fred Pokorney, was a "gentle giant" and a top-notch Marine. Her 31-year-old daughter, who has a 3-year-old, is working to raise money for other war widows, she said.

Many were jarred by the sight of so many crosses.

"I'm trying to put words around it. There are no words to express how deeply this has affected me," said Christi McGinley, an Olympia resident and associate member of the organization. "Each of these is a life that no longer exists because of a needless and horrible war."

Larry Kershner, 58, of Pe Ell was drafted into the Army infantry during Vietnam. He went because he didn't want to go to jail and, at the time, knew little about American foreign policy, he said.

When he returned, it took about 10 years to heal emotionally from the experience, he said.

"I think that it took longer during and after the Vietnam War for the consciousness to change," he said about opposition to the war. "I think we built on that change so that the consciousness of the people has changed this time much more quickly."

In 2000, he went to Iraq with a delegation from Voices in the Wilderness, an organization formed in opposition to economic sanctions and warfare against the Iraqi people. Kershner, a nurse practitioner, said he saw rampant starvation and disease due to the United Nations-imposed sanctions, and 40 cases of birth defects in one hospital that he thinks were caused by depleted uranium from American munitions during the first Gulf War.

He said he saw no reason for the United States to invade Iraq.

The crosses were laid flat due to a rule set by the state Department of General Administration, which oversees the Capitol Campus. Some who attended were angry and offended that the group wasn't allowed to stake the crosses into the lawn to make them more visible.

"The whole display is about how our government has not allowed us to see the consequences," said Judith Stattuck of the Evergreen Peace and Justice Community.

State officials didn't want to set a precedent, which might later lead to things being stuck in the ground that might damage the lawn, said Schwilk, the group facilitator.

The organization decided to carry out the message anyway, he said.

The local Veterans for Peace contingent is called the Rachel Corrie chapter, named after the Olympia peace activist who was killed by an Israeli Army bulldozer while protesting in the Gaza Strip. Members of the group said the tribute recognized her as a veteran in the struggle for peace.

 

Scott Gutierrez covers crime and public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or sgutierr@olympia.gannett.com.